Solid electrolytic capacitors (e.g., tantalum capacitors) are typically made by pressing a metal powder (e.g., tantalum) around a metal lead wire, sintering the pressed part, anodizing the sintered anode, and thereafter applying a solid electrolyte. Intrinsically conductive polymers are often employed as the solid electrolyte due to their advantageous low equivalent series resistance (“ESR”) and “non-burning/non-ignition” failure mode. Such electrolytes can be formed through in situ chemical polymerization of the monomer in the presence of a catalyst and dopant. One of the problems with conventional capacitors that employ in situ polymerized polymers is that they tend to fail at high voltages, such as experienced during a fast switch on or operational current spike. In an attempt to overcome some of these issues, premade conductive polymer slurries have also been employed in certain applications as an alternative solid electrolyte material. While some benefits have been achieved with these capacitors in high voltage environments, problems nevertheless remain. For instance, one problem with polymer slurry-based capacitors is that they can achieve only a relatively low percentage of their wet capacitance, which means that they have a relatively large capacitance loss and/or fluctuation in the presence of atmosphere humidity.
As such, a need currently exists for a solid electrolytic capacitor having improved performance in high voltage environments.